


Dopplegängers

by Jestana



Series: AU_Bingo [13]
Category: The Queen (2006)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Steampunk, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-12-22
Updated: 2010-12-22
Packaged: 2017-10-13 23:26:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/142860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jestana/pseuds/Jestana
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Queen is shot while making a public appearance.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Dopplegängers

**Author's Note:**

> Written for au_bingo on LJ for the prompt _Other: Steampunk_. Beta by unicorn_catcher and umbralillium.

**Dopplegängers**

  
Queen Elizabeth II climbed out of the limousine first, closely followed by her husband, Prince Philip. She always felt better with him by her side. At a signal from her head of security, the queen started forward, hands calmly clasped in front of her, Philip just behind her right shoulder. She acknowledged her subjects' presence with an occasional wave and small smile. Just as she began to think the walk was never going to end, she caught a glimpse of the entrance.

That's when gunfire broke out, sending everyone running and screaming. The queen tried to carry on, but a man in a ski mask stepped into her path. Pointing a gun at her chest, he squeezed the trigger. She felt the bullets hit her chest and her vision went black. That's when the VR remote was removed from her head, revealing the control room at Windsor Castle. "Are you all right, Your Majesty?"

"Of course," she answered primly, even as she fought to catch her breath. The transition from virtual reality to actual reality was always unsettling. "The dopplegänger took a direct hit to the chest this time."

"We saw it on the news," Robin Janvrin, her Private Secretary, informed her as the servants helped Prince Philip remove his VR remote as well. "Security apprehended one of the gunmen already and are in pursuit of the others, but fear they will manage to lose themselves in the crowd again."

She nodded, stifling a sigh of dismay and frustration. The one who'd been apprehended would probably kill himself in custody, just as the ones apprehended before him had. "Thank you, Robin. Is there anything else?"

"No, Your Majesty." He understood the dismissal implicit in her words, bowing and backing out of the room.

Almost the moment the door clicked shut behind him, she was pulled into a tight embrace, Philip's face pressed to the top of her head. "No matter how many times we go through this, cabbage, I will _never_ get used to it."

"I'd rather you didn't." She allowed herself the luxury of leaning into and returning the embrace, aware that the servants would have cleared everything away already. "Then it would mean you don't care for me any longer."

Before he could respond, there was a respectful tap on the door and two young boys almost tumbled into the room, eyes wide with worry. "Grandma! You're all right."

"I said we'd be using the dopplegängers, didn't I?" she asked, reluctantly pulling away from Philip so she could return her grandsons' hugs. Even months after Diana's death, it still felt awkward. "Until whoever's behind these attacks is caught, we'll keep using them."

Charles responded from where he remained by the door. "We're all very relieved for that, Mother. Even seeing the steam escape after the dopplegänger was hit didn't reassure them."

"I know." Elizabeth nodded, gently nudging the boys towards their father. "Your aunt and I never rested easy until we saw with our own eyes that Father was well."

He nodded, his eyes flicking to his own father, who was unusually quiet. "Right. We'll see you at dinner, then."

"Until then," Elizabeth returned the nod and leaned back into Philip's comforting warmth as her son and grandsons left them to their privacy. Though the Virtual Reality remotes meant they no longer needed to be close enough to the dopplegängers to see them physically, seeing and feeling what the dopplegängers saw and felt was more than a little disconcerting. "Who are these people, Philip? What do they want?"

He slipped his arms around her waist, squeezing gently. "When they get tired of killing the dopplegängers, they'll let us know."

"Probably in the worst way possible," she murmured, turning to bury her face in his chest. Just for a little while, she wanted to forget that she was the Queen of England. She just wanted to be a wife being comforted by her husband.

Unfortunately, there was another respectful tap at the door just then, reminding them that they had obligations. As the queen pulled away from her husband and turned to face the door, Philip caught her hand in his and squeezed it lightly, reminding her that he was there and always would be.

 **End**


End file.
